Page 153 of The Wishing Game

"You are nice," he says, his voice dropping an octave. "To me."

I blink.

"I am not...good with people. And I admit I may have, at times, offended you."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes since I doubt even he knows when he's offensive and when he isn't.

"But you have not held my idiosyncrasies against me. You are a good person, Luce." He smiles, turning his face toward me.

My lashes flutter as I find myself suddenlytooclose to him, his warm breath fanning my face, his purple eyes fixed on mine.

"Uhm, thank you?" I whisper, heat traveling up my cheeks.

"You are very welcome," he replies in that dignified tone of his. "From now on, I would rather you were not as nice to others, though. I suppose I could make an exception for Erithea, and maybe even Cerenios since he knows his place. But any other individual is out of the question."

Now I'm confused... Is he telling me not to be nice to other contestants?

"Is this because it might be dangerous?"

I experienced firsthand what happened with the fox when I only tried to be nice and compliment her tail. Maybe he has a point with this. Despite my instinct to be cordial and kind to people, it's not the place to do so. We're all enemies here.

"Yes. It is"—he nods before adding under his breath—"for them."

"You're right," I eventually agree. "Sometimes I just can't help it." I sigh. "But I realize it might not be in my best interest."

"Do not worry. I will ensure I am the only object of your attentions," he declares.

"Well, I guess that gets you an extra point." I laugh. "Thank you for always having my back." I pat him lightly on the shoulder.

He preens quietly at hearing about the extra point.

Ze might be downright offensive sometimes, but he's lucky that another one of my good qualitiesis that I don't take his poorly phrased words to heart, nor am I quick to anger.

We walk for a while longer before I anxiously tap his chest.

"Do you see that?" I point at the spot between the trees. "Those colors..."

White petals with a black dot inside are attached to a light green stem that's a contrast to the deep green of the grass.

"It seems we have arrived at our destination," he nods.

I ask him to put me down and the moment my feet touch the ground, I run forward. Once I pass the last of the trees, my eyes widen in wonder as I take in the beauty of the landscape.

"It's an entire field, Ze! Oh my," I exclaim in excitement as I hurry forward.

The flowers are quite tall, reaching my waist. And as I run around, the silky texture of the petals brushes against my hands.

Turning to Ze, I continue to walk backward as I beckon him forward.

"Come on!"

Ze smiles as he watches me.

"Should we take it out with the root?" I ask as I gaze at one particular plant.

"Yes," he replies, handing me our bag before getting to his knees and digging his hands in the ground. He pushes his fingers in the damp soil, moving around until he has a good grasp on the root. Carefully, he starts taking it out. To help him, I get down next to him, brushing away the dirt so he can perform a smooth removal.

"There. One," he says, giving it to me. But instead of stopping, he moves to the next.

---